1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transfer service method for a telephone network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as one of transfer services which are provided to telephone subscribers, an unattended transfer service is well known wherein, if the telephone number of an original telephone set and the telephone number of a transfer destination are communicated to a telephone business proprietor in advance, then if a telephone call terminates at the original telephone set when the telephone subscriber of the original telephone set is not present around the telephone set or the original telephone set cannot be used for communication or in a like case, the telephone call is automatically transferred to the telephone set of the transfer destination by an electronic exchange.
However, such a conventional unattended transfer service can be enjoyed only where the telephone number of the original telephone set and physical accommodation position information corresponding to the telephone set of the transfer destination are registered in the electronic exchange, but cannot be enjoyed by any telephone set with regard to which no such information is registered.
A method directed to a service different from the unattended transfer service is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. Heisei 4-133552 wherein a unique logic number is allocated to a user (originating party) which wants to enjoy provision of personal communication information of an accounting destination, a communication district, a terminating method and so forth and is registered in advance as a data base in a storage unit of a switching center, and when the originating party dials on the telephone set using the logic number of the originating party and an identification number which designates a service to be enjoyed, the storage unit is accessed based on the logic number to read out the designated personal communication information and the personal communication information is sent back to the telephone set of the originating party.
Also in this instance, however, in order to allow the telephone set to enjoy the service, physical accommodation position information corresponding to the telephone number thereof must be registered in advance in the switching center.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer service method for a telephone network by which, even if physical accommodation position information of a telephone set of a transfer destination is not registered in an electronic exchange connected by a wire or wireless to a telephone set on the originating side from which a telephone call is to be transferred, a transfer service to the telephone set of the transfer destination corresponding to a logic number can be enjoyed.
In order to attain the object described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a transfer service method for a telephone network, comprising the steps of discriminating whether a telephone number by a telephone call originated from a telephone set is a telephone number whose physical accommodation position information is registered in an electronic exchange or a logic number whose physical accommodation position information is not registered in the electronic exchange, referring, when the telephone number is a logic number, to a logic number-transfer destination telephone number table set in advance in a memory of the electronic exchange and calling a telephone set of a transfer destination telephone number corresponding to the logic number, and performing a transfer service set in advance to the thus called telephone set.
The discrimination of whether the telephone number by the telephone call originated from the first-mentioned telephone set is a telephone number whose physical accommodation position information is registered in the electronic exchange or a logic number whose physical accommodation position information is not registered in the electronic exchange may be performed by referring to a telephone number-physical accommodation position information table set in advance in the memory of the electronic exchange.
With the transfer service method for a telephone network, even if physical accommodation position information of the telephone set of the transfer destination is not registered in the electronic exchange connected by a wire or wireless to the telephone set on the originating side from which a telephone call is to be transferred, a transfer service to the telephone set of the transfer destination corresponding to a physical number can be enjoyed.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.